Good Guys
by Asphalt Angel
Summary: There are a lot of things Jai knows... A missing scene from 1x07.


Title: Good Guys

Warnings: Awesome amounts of ego and 1x07 spoilers

Disclaimer: It's not mine, don't sue me

Notes: Oh my god, I wrote Jai. Wow. I hope you all enjoy, and thanks, as always, for the support you've been showing me!

* * *

There are a lot of things Jai knows.

He knows that Annie chose the seat facing his for the flight back to DC because he's calmer than she is and she's hoping it'll rub off on her if she's near him. He also knows that she won't ever admit it, and that she won't look at him because she wants him to think she's still a little angry that he didn't trust her instincts.

She probably is still a little angry, but she's not looking at him because her attention is entirely fixed on Auggie, who may or may not be aware of it. He's slouched low in the seat across the aisle, chin on his chest and eyes closed, which means he's either succumbed to the post-op crash or he's faking sleep so that he doesn't have to talk to them.

Jai doesn't feel much like talking either, but he knows Annie has questions. She'll ask every last one, too, so if Auggie's delaying it until he isn't such a cliché combination of bruised, battered, and heartbroken, Jai gets it.

And if he's actually asleep, Jai's envious because it's not like this little trip to Canada was relaxing for him either. And, however tempting, he can't just pass out until the wheels touch down because, unlike Auggie, he really is still supposed to be running an op on a girl.

Not that he believes that's entirely what Auggie was doing.

What's interesting is that Annie believed it, kept going on about trust, insisting Auggie would never betray them. But now she's realizing that he just gamed the other woman who decided to trust him, and she's wondering what kind of man is capable of doing that to someone he loves.

It's a rough way to learn something that anyone in the DPD could have told her: Auggie Anderson is an excellent liar.

Of course, it makes Jai's job all the easier because now he gets to play the good guy.

He knows that Annie's attention will eventually turn to him, and he'll be able to offer her as much comfort and guidance as he can. He'll say that they've all felt the way she's feeling, that it's just a phase they go through because they all entered the CIA with rose-colored expectations of what it would be like to serve in the defense of their nation. He'll let her see traces of his own disillusionment, too, because it'll make him more sympathetic.

He doesn't actually know what it feels like to lose her kind of idealism about the job, but he does remember how it felt when his father told him that all the sports, the martial arts, the additional language and mathematics classes he'd been pushed into taking hadn't exactly been about making him a well-rounded candidate for the best schools. And the best schools weren't there to help him find his path into the world because it had already been laid out for him without his input.

He can predict their conversation down to the very dialogue.

And if it gets him as close to her as he hopes it will, he'll probably ask her to join him for dinner the next time they're both free. He knows how that will go, too, followed by everything else up until the point when she realizes he's been running her. Once that happens, it'll all fall apart.

He knows it's going to happen, and he already regrets it because they're going to have a lot of fun before it comes to that. But ops always end eventually. The ones that require emotional involvement usually end in spectacular fashion.

The plane banks east, and Auggie spasms into an upright position, clutching at his side and swearing under his breath. He's been too still for too long, and the bruises that are no doubt covering his torso are stiffening up now. Jai feels for the guy, really, because he knows how much that hurts.

Annie gets out of her seat immediately, crouching at Auggie's side and asking what she can do for him. He sends her to get a water bottle out of the mini fridge in the back, which is smart because it'll give him time to fight the pain down before she's able to look at him closely.

Jai watches him shift in his seat, trying to find a position that approaches comfortable, and decides to take pity. He takes two packets of ibuprofen out of a suit pocket and tosses them across the aisle. They land on squarely on Auggie's chest, and he frowns as he reaches for them. Once he realizes what he's been given, his expression changes to one of incredible relief.

Jai tells him not to mention it.

Annie comes back with the water, smiling at the two of them. She doesn't get that handing over painkillers to another operative, even if you're annoyed that said operative breached dozens of protocols and dragged you up to Canada, is just something that you do. He and Auggie will bicker, battle, and try to out-game each other for as long as they're both in the agency, but they'll still have each other's back when it comes down to it.

Jai doubts Annie will ever understand how that can work.

He knows she won't understand that he'll still have her back after he's done running her. She won't want him there, won't trust him anymore.

Jai knows all this.

And he still knows what he's going to do.


End file.
